A system for monitoring cutting devices in a packaging production line having a line for supplying a material to be cut, an area of a predetermined type of cutting device, and a packaging output line is provided. The system includes means for counting cutting actions of the cutting device, configured to provide a time series of cutting action counting data, a video camera to frame an area of the output line, the video camera configured to provide video data of packaging elements in the output line, first code means, configured to run, on a computer, a first algorithm for recognizing cutting defects starting from video data, the first algorithm providing defect recognition data, and second code means, configured to run, on the computer, a trained expert algorithm to predict cutting performance degradation based on historical defect recognition data, time series of cutting action counting data, and type of cutting device.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein said cutting device comprises a plurality of cutting elements, and wherein said at least one performance prediction parameter comprises useful age of the cutting device or of one of the cutting elements.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein said cutting device comprises a plurality of cutting elements, and wherein said one or more operational indicators comprise identifiers of position of the cutting elements having a performance below a predetermined threshold.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein said counting means include a Bluetooth tag which comprises an accelerometer.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein said Bluetooth tag comprises said at least one environmental sensor.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein said reference model is a vector model comprising indications of cuts and folds of the packaging element.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein said reference model is a CAD design or equivalent.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein said computer is configured to send commands for adjusting rotation speed of the cutting device on the basis of values of said one or more operational indicators.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein said computer is a local computer.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein said cutting device or said local computer sends environmental data measured by said at least one environmental sensor to said remote computer.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein said cutting device or said local computer sends data for identifying the cutting device to a remote computer on cloud.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein, in the packaging production line, alarm means are activated by said computer on the basis of said one or more operational indicators.
14. The system of claim 1, wherein said expert algorithm is trained using one or more the statistical parameters extracted from the historical series of said plurality of data, selected from the group consisting of: minimum, maximum, average, variance and frequency analysis.
15. The system of claim 1, wherein said cutting device is a rotary die, and said counting means for counting the cutting actions are means for counting rotations of the rotary die.
16. The system of claim 1, wherein said expert algorithm is trained to estimate said at least one performance prediction parameter also on the basis of a cutting device morphological model.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein performance prediction is a prediction differentiated on different portions of said cutting device morphological model.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising, controlling, by the computer, adjustment of rotation speed of the cutting device, on the basis of values of said one or more operational indicators.
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October 28, 2020
July 16, 2024
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